Quality listening is so important. 

There is a lot of music that is created specifically for children.  I have heard some great compositions but I have also heard what I call ‘take away’ music: keyboard sound music.  Like ‘take away’ food it’s okay but consumption should be limited! If we just play this music to our children we are letting them down! They need to listen to a wide genre of 'real' music.  Ideally, some of this should be live but, as this can be tricky to organise, recorded music is the next best option.  Therefore the recordings need to be of REAL instruments, not just keyboard sounds!

Playing different genres of music is so important as children's preferences are made at a very early age.  They should be listening to music from the latest music on the radio to historical music and also music from around the world from aboriginal music to samba.  The music they listen to now may affect the music they choose to listen to as an adult, what instruments they may choose to learn and the type of music they may write.

If you don’t already play a wide range of music to the children please consider starting!  At home, they may be listening to lots of different music but we should also be giving them these opportunities in our settings!

Here are a few examples of the genres of music the children could be listening to:

• Jazz
• Pop
• Rock
• Classical
• Electronic
• Reggae
• Film scores
• Blues
• Salsa
• African drumming…

If the music has sing please ensure that the lyrics are suitable before you play it to the children.

If you’re wondering what the children can do whilst they are listening to the music then you could try one of the following:

• Dancing: let them show you what they can do!
• Moving with a prop: ribbon, parachute, Lycra, puppet
• Painting or drawing
• Playing with small world
• Constructing…

Use your imagination there are many more ways children can respond to music.

If you would like to learn more, please take a look at my 'Musical Discoveries: Listening to Music in the Early Years' online training: https://www.musicintheearlyyears.com/musical-discoveries-listening-in-the-early-years

Happy music making!